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Brown v. Board of Education
On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education in mainly Kansas. It also took place in South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and District of Columbia. It overturn Plessy v Ferguson, 9-0. -
Murder of Emmett Till
In August of 1955, two white men named Roy Bryant and JW Milan, killed Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy, for whistling at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant. In September 1955 an all-white jury found Bryant and Milan not guilty of Till's murder. This lead to racial violence and injustice prevalent in Mississippi. -
Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks's arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, during which the black citizens of Montgomery refused to ride the city's buses in protest over the bus system's policy of racial segregation. She stood her ground and refused to give up her seat for a white man. Rosa became an instant icon, but her resistance was a natural extension of a lifelong commitment to activism. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is a civil rights organization founded in 1957, as an offshoot of the Montgomery Improvement Association, which successfully staged a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery Alabama's segregated bus system. It was an organization linked to the black churches. The people involved were MLK and the 60 Black Ministers Civil Rights Leaders. -
Little Rock 9
In 1957, 9 African American students arrived at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They made their way through a crowd shouting obscenities and even throwing objects. Once the students reached the front door the National Guard prevented them from entering the school and were forced to go home. -
Greensboro Sit Ins
The Greensboro sit-in was a civil rights protest that started in 1960, when young African American college students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. The students refused to leave when they were denied service. This brought the fight for Civil Rights to the national stage -
Ruby Ridges
Ruby Bridges was the first African American child to integrate an all-white public elementary school in the American South. In 1960, at the age of 6, she attended William Frantz Elementary in New Orleans under heavy police escort due to violent protests and threats against her. Barbara Henry was the only teacher willing to teach Ruby when she integrated and she supported Ruby throughout the challenging year. This helped pave the way for the desegregation of schools across the United States. -
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists who rode interstate buses in the 1960s to challenge segregation in the Southern United States. Organized by the Congress of Racial Equality, they aimed to test a Supreme Court ruling that declared segregated bus facilities unconstitutional. This consisted of 436 individuals on 60 separate rides and group core. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was organized by civil rights and labor leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and John Lewis.The event aimed to advocate for civil rights, economic justice, and an end to racial segregation in the United States. It was during this march that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This was a landmark law that aimed to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibited segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination, marking a significant step toward racial equality. It is one of the most significant peaces of MLK and LBJ. -
Assassination of Malcom X
Malcolm X, a prominent civil rights leader and advocate for Black empowerment, was assassinated while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. He was shot by members of the Nation of Islam, the group he had once been a part of, after his public split with its leader, Elijah Muhammad. His death sparked widespread grief and controversy, and his legacy as a powerful voice for racial justice today. -
Selma to Montgomery (Bloody Sunday)
In 1965, a group of civil rights activists began a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to demand voting rights for African Americans.They were brutally attacked by state troopers and local law enforcement in what became known as "Bloody Sunday." In the wake of the attack, President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed for and signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a key piece of legislation that aimed to protect African American voting rights. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. This significantly increased voter registration and participation among African Americans, becoming a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray, a fugitive from prison, was arrested and convicted for the murder, though controversy surrounds the circumstances of the killing. King's death sparked national mourning and riots, but it also solidified his legacy as a leader in the fight for racial equality and justice.